SYRACUSE HOUSING STrategY

Syracuse, NY

what is the path forward for a soft market city facing serious housing gaps?

SUMMARY

In the spring of 2023, czb completed a housing study for the City of Syracuse that revealed two overarching housing gaps: a market gap that reflects the unwillingness of higher-income households to pay for good housing in the city, and an affordability gap that reflects the inability of lower-income households to pay for good housing in the city. The market gap indicates a need for revitalization work to build demand to strengthen the housing market, while the affordability gap indicates a need to strategically assist economically vulnerable households.

In 2024, czb worked with the City of Syracuse, and a steering committee of over two dozen stakeholders and professionals appointed by Mayor Walsh, to craft a strategy aimed at addressing these difficult housing gaps. Perhaps the most important theme of the multifaceted strategy for Syracuse is the need to focus limited resources. The strategy, which was adopted unanimously by the Syracuse Common Council in September 2024, quickly moved into implementation with the creation of a Housing Trust Fund and detailed implementation plans for the first group of four city neighborhoods.

SYRACUSE HOUSING STRATEGY (PDF)

VISIT SYRACUSE HOUSING STRATEGY WEBSITE

Project Steering Committee wrestles with the reality of limited resources.

The combined cost to address all the revitalization and affordability needs in Syracuse is likely greater than one billion dollars. This is an amount of funding that Syracuse would struggle to assemble. The question then is how could much smaller amounts be strategically deployed to make a positive difference in the city's housing market? czb facilitated a series of discussions and interactive exercises with the steering committee to ascertain the principles upon which such difficult decisions would be made, with an eye toward public agreement and eventual support.